Waterlands

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King mackerelShoulder season

Bay · Virginia

Quinby Inlet

37.47°N · 75.67°W · Bay · Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · King mackerel

64/100Good
Now
425 AM EDT
Best window
5-9 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding3.6 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 AM · now

Time5ANOW
Score42Fair
Tide3.6 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.5 knmodeled · toward SSW
Wind17 kn NEgusts 27 · steady
Sea stateRough4.8 ft · 7 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast39% chance of rain
Water72°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for King mackerel is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with VMRC before you keep a fish.

Source: VMRC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When King mackerel is best here

Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder

King mackerel season by week of the year. Shoulder season for King mackerel · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

King mackerel in Virginia

Spot profile

Quinby Inlet

Depth
7-60 ftDrop-off
Structure
Inlet · Outer · ExposedInlet · drop-off
Season
Shoulder seasonKing mackerel

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Quinby Inlet

Quinby Inlet is a bay in Chesapeake Bay from Little Creek VA to Cape Henry VA including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Virginia. Depth is 7-60 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads inlet, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are scup, little tunny and bluefish. It is peak season now for scup, little tunny, Spanish mackerel and summer flounder, and shoulder season for bluefish, black sea bass, striped bass and king mackerel. Scup peak from June through October. Little tunny peak from September through October. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
Scup
Scup school over hard and mixed bottom, rock piles, mussel beds, piers and jetties, usually in 10 to 60 feet of water. Fish a high-low rig with small hooks and squid or clam strips on the bottom, and chum with clam to hold a school under the boat. If nothing bites within 15 minutes, move to the next piece of structure.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • 56
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 56
    • Little tunny 47
    • Sheepshead 47

    17 kt NEH 6:11 AM · 3.9 ftL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ft

  • North Inlet

    Gut · 1.7 mi

    56
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 56
    • Little tunny 51
    • Bluefish 50

    17 kt NEH 6:11 AM · 3.9 ftL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ft

  • Revel Island Cove

    Bay · 1.7 mi

    56
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 56
    • Little tunny 47
    • Sheepshead 47

    17 kt NEH 6:11 AM · 3.9 ftL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ft

  • The Straits

    Channel · 1.8 mi

    56
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 56
    • Summer flounder 49
    • Sheepshead 47

    17 kt NEH 6:11 AM · 3.9 ftL 12:07 PM · 0.6 ft

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with VMRC before you keep a fish.